Ethan Murphy flipped the ball with his left hand on a drive to the basket. It dropped through to spark an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter that enabled Cape Elizabeth to take charge.

In a game of spurts, the second-seeded Capers had the final one and went on to beat fourth-seeded Lake Region 51-46 for the Western Class B boys’ basketball championship Saturday at the Cross Insurance Arena.

Murphy’s acrobatic shot ignited the Cape crowd, but for Murphy, a senior point guard, it’s the type of shot he’s perfected.

“When I was younger, I wasn’t strong enough to shoot 3-pointers so I practiced layups with both hands. I’m able to use both hands,” he said.

Murphy said Cape’s experience helped down the stretch against Lake Region.

“We had all five starters back when the season began,” he said. “We’ve been through everything together.”

The Capers went from trailing 40-38 with 5:07 left to leading 49-40 with 2:05 remaining.

“We were looking for good shots,” said Murphy. “We managed to get some and they went in.”

Cape Elizabeth (18-3) will play Medomak Valley (19-2) for the state title at 9 p.m. Friday at the Cross Insurance Arena. The Panthers defeated Winslow on Saturday for the Eastern Maine title.

This was Cape’s fourth regional title in eight seasons. The Capers will try to win their first state championship since 1988.

“We still have some work left,” said Murphy, who scored a game-high 20 points and received the Pierre Harnois Award as the tournament’s top player/sportsman.

Murphy started the spurt with a three-point play to give his team a 41-40 lead. Then came his flip shot that he put high off the backboard.

Lake Region (15-6) missed an inside shot at the other end and Justin Guerette connected on a short jumper to make it 45-40.

After the Lakers committed a turnover, Quinn Hewitt of the Capers was fouled and made two from the line. Hewitt then scored on a drive with 2:05 for a 49-40 lead.

Nate Smith scored for the Lakers with 1:32 left, then Jack Lesure cut it to 49-44 with a layup with 48.6 seconds remaining. Murphy missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 38 seconds left and Smith missed a 3-pointer at the other end before the Lakers were forced to foul.

Murphy made two with 19.5 seconds left. Tyler Walker scored for Lake Region with 11.3 seconds for the final score.

Asked what gave his team the edge, Capers Coach Jim Ray said: “The Murphy factor. He played a heck of a game and made some tough shots.”

With Cape standouts Eddie Galvin and Hewitt in foul trouble, the team had players come off the bench to help out.

Freshman Finn Bowe, James Bottomly and Marcus Donnelly contributed valuable minutes. Bowe hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Cape a 25-23 halftime lead.

“Before the game I told the players to leave their egos at the door and do what they had to do to help the team,” said Ray.

“There aren’t stats for some of the things they do. We didn’t get rattled. Lake Region didn’t get rattled. It was a great game.”

Lake Region went on a 7-0 run toward the end of the second quarter to take a 23-17 lead, but Cape closed with an 8-0 spurt for the halftime lead.

Trailing 38-30, the Lakers scored the last six points of the third quarter. Lesure scored. Nick Hall hit two from the line and Hall followed with a basket off a feed from Lesure.

“Cape beat us off the dribble,” said Lake Region Coach J.P. Yorkey of the decisive final minutes. “Murphy made some plays.”

Hall led the Lakers with 12 points.Smith added 11 and Lesure finished with 10.

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